Botanical classification/cultivar designation: Pelargonium peltatum cultivar xe2x80x98KLEP01042xe2x80x99.
The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Ivy Geranium plant, botanically known as Pelargonium peltatum, and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98KLEP01042xe2x80x99.
The new Ivy Geranium is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Stuttgart, Germany. The objective of the breeding program was to develop new Ivy Geraniums with uniform plant habit and interesting flower and foliage colors.
The new Ivy Geranium originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor in 1997 of a proprietary selection of Pelargonium peltatum identified as code number PL 707, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with the Pelargonium peltatum cultivar xe2x80x98Klebluexe2x80x99, disclosed in U.S. Plant patent applciation Ser. No. 09/250,014 (now abandoned), as the male, or pollen, parent. The cultivar KLEP01042 was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant within the progeny from this cross-pollination in a controlled environment in Stuttgart, Germany, in June, 1998.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal cuttings taken in a controlled environment in Stuttgart, Germany since 1999 has shown that the unique features of this new Ivy Geranium are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98KLEP01042xe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98KLEP01042xe2x80x99 as a new cultivar and distinguish it from other known Ivy Geranium cultivars:
1. Outwardly spreading and trailing plant habit.
2. Freely flowering habit.
3. Dark red-colored flowers arranged in hemispherical umbels held above and beyond the foliage on strong peduncles.
4. Tolerant to high temperatures.
Plants of the new Ivy Geranium are not as vigorous, but have darker red-colored flowers than plants of the female parent, the selection PL 707. Plants of the new Ivy Geranium differ primarily from plants of the male parent, the cultivar Kleblue, in flower color as plants of the cultivar Kleblue have purple-colored flowers.
The new Ivy Geranium can be compared to plants of the cultivar xe2x80x98Kleoredxe2x80x99, not patented. However, in side-by-side comparisons conducted in Stuttgart, Germany, plants of the new Ivy Geranium differed from plants of the cultivar Kleored in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Ivy Geranium had glossier leaves than plants of the cultivar Kleored.
2. Plants of the new Ivy Geranium had darker red-colored flowers than plants of the cultivar Kleored.